Newspaper vending machine

ABSTRACT

A coin operated newspaper vending machine wherein a stack of newspapers are fed upwardly for dispensing the uppermost through an adjustably sized discharge opening. Means is provided to prohibit removal of more than one newspaper upon operation of the coin operated means.

United States Patent 1191 Emmel Sept. 16, 1975 NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE 2,501,434 3/1950 Cameron 221/241 X 3,114,475 12/1963 Etes 221/227 X [76] Invent: 'F 'S Emma 321 Herschel 3,747,733 7 1973 Knickerbocker. 221/241 x wlchlta, Kans- 67209 3,768,695 10/1973 Pearson 221/227 [22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1973 Primary ExaminerRobert B. Reeves PP N05 345,220 Assistant ExaminerJoseph J. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert E. Breidenthal [52] US. Cl. 221/155; 221/241; 221/279 511 1m. 01. A47F 1/04 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 221 192, 193, 194, 241, A coin operated newspaper vending machine wherein 221/242, 226, 227, 244, 279, 304, 155; a stack of newspapers are fed upwardly for dispensing 194/57, 58, 59, 63, 65, 68 the uppermost through an adjustably sized discharge opening. Means is provided to prohibit removal of [5 6] References Cited more than one newspaper upon operation of the coin UNITED STATES PATENTS Operated means- 2,I73,782 9/1939 Halay 194/65 24 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP] 6 I975 sum 1 OF 5 F/GZ 1 NEWSPAPER VENDING The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in coin operated newspaper vending machines and more particularly the invention pertains to machines of such character provided with improved theft preventing means and with an improved and ad"- justable means for enabling the machine to handle with equal facility various newspaper editions of drastically differing size.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a weatherproof housing for newspapers or the like for the dispensing of newspapers, one at a time, from the same, with each dispensing operation being initiatable solely upon the feeding of appropriate coinage to a coin controlled mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for the character defined above with a gate controlled dispensing opening wherein the gate is substantially secure against tampering, and wherein the size of the dispensing opening can be readily adjusted to suit the thickness of the newspapers.

An important aspect of the invention involves, in a property security system, the improvement comprising a gate mounted for oscillatory movement about an oscillation axis between closed and open positions, means yieldingly urging movement of the gate about said oscillation axis toward its closed position, means normally preventing movement of the gate from its closed position, said preventing means comprising a blocking member mounted for movement between a gate releasing position and a gate blocking position, means yieldingly urging said blocking member toward its gate blocking position, and control means mounted for movement between first and second positions and being respectively disposed in said first and second positions when the blocking member is in its blocking and gate releasing positions, said blocking member and said control means being provided with coacting surfaces engageable with each other and operative cammingly to force movement of the blocking member toward its gate releasing position on moving toward its second position from its first position.

Another important aspect of the invention involves, in a dispensing machine of the type that has a provision for urging vertical movement of a stack or rectangular flat articles disposed within a housing upwardly to position the uppermost of such articles to a dispensing position adjacent a dispensing opening in a vertical wall of such housing; the combination therewith of stop means disposed within the housing for limiting upward vertical movement of articles stacked within the housing, gauging means for securing the stop means to the cabinet at any one of a plurality of selected positions of differing height, said stop means being disposed adjacent said vertical wall and in close proximity to said dispensing opening in an arrangement such that the selected height at which the stop means is secured to the housing predetermines the effective vertical extent of the dispensing opening that is unobstructed by the stop means and the maximum vertical thickness of an up= permost stacked article that can bedispensed horizon= tally from within the housing through the dispensing opening. 7

The invention will be most easily comprehended in the light of the ensuring description of a preferred em= bodiment thereof, such description being given in con= junction with the accompanying drawings illustrative of the same, w-herein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the vending machine;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged and fragmental detail view of one of the feet of the machine with portions being broken away-whereby leg length "is adjustable;

FIG. 4 is aview similar to FIG. 1, with the door shown in'itsopen position, and with newspapers being partially shown in dashed outline;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the machine as shown in FIG. 4, with newspapers being shown in,

tional view of a portion of the guided and yieldingly supported newspaper carrier;

FIG. 7 is an enlaraged and broken top elevational view of the structure carried onthe inside of the housing door for gating and sizing the dispensing opening;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 7; v

FIG. 9 is an enlarged end view of a portion of the structure for adjustably setting the vertical size of the dispensing opening;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the gating mechanisms, with a side wall of the same removed to expose to view the internal structure of the same; i

FIG. 11 is a still further enlarged side view of one of r the parts of the gating mechanism shown in FIG'. I0;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged plan view of yet another part of the gating mechanism shown in FIG. 10;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are vertical sectional detail views through the structure in FIGS. 7 and 8 and illustrate structure and operation of the means for adjusting the width or height of the dispensing opening; and,

FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 are vertical sectional detail views showing sequentially different stages of newspaper withdrawal and corresponding movement of the gate finger.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the various views, the reference numeral 10 designates the newspaper vending machine generally, the same being broadly comprised of an upstanding, weathertight housing 12 that includes a hingedly mounted access front door 14 that can be secured by conventional key operated lock means, not shown, in the closed position shown thereof in FIG. 1. Disposed within the housing 12 is a newspaper carriage or support means designated generally at 16 for yieldingly supporting a vertical stack of newspapers such as those shown at 18 with their major or final folds 20 presented in a vertical plane adjacent the front of the housing 12 in an arrangement such that the .uppermost newspaper 22 is fed to a dispensing position adjacent a dispensing opening 24 in the door 14.

Means carried by the door and designated generally at 26 serves to enable vertical adjustment of the width of the dispensing opening 24 to accommodate properly widely varying sizes of newspaper editions. Also carried by the door 12 is means designated generally at 28 for gating the dispensing of newspapers, one at a time, under the control of coin operated means 30 (also carried by the door 14), through the dispensing opening 3 .A vpocketaor,newspaper display holder means 32 is mounted on the door 14 below the dispensing opening 24, and the ,wall or door. 14 has a transparent section or panel 34 through which a display newspaper copy 36 can beviewed by prospective purchaserstnot shown).

A forwardly and downwardly sloping .top, wall 40 and the side wall 42 of the housing remotefrom the door.

hinge 44 arerespectively. provided with transparent panels 46 and 48 which can, like the panel 34, conveniently be of an acrylicresin, whereby the condition and the sufficiency of the supply of newspapers in the machine can bereadily ascertained visually.

For the most part, excepting obvious exceptions such as thepanels 34, 46 and 48, the machine is preferably of welded metal construction, steel and aluminum being especially preferred. The housing 14, in addition to the front (door), top and side walls 14, 40 and 42, includes rear, side and bottom walls 50, 52 and 54, respectively, and is preferably constructed so as to be weather tight whereby machines can be situated at out-of-door exposed positions as well as within sheltered portions of buildings. I

inasmuch as machines 10 may be disposed upon irregular (non-planar) surfaces, at least one, if not all four housing support legs 56, 58 and 60, is provided with conventional means to adjust the overall leg length, as illustrated in FIG. 3 relative to leg 56, wherein 'it' will be seen that such leg 56 is provided with a foot 62 that includes an upstanding externally threaded .post 64.'The post 64' is threaded upwardly through an internally'threaded nut 66 that is welded to the leg as shown at 68. Theoverall length of the leg 56 inclusive of the foot 62 is determined'by the extent to which the post 64 is threaded into the nut 66.

The means 16 for yieldingly supporting a vertical stack of newspapers comprises a pair of spaced parallel vertical guide rods 70-and 72 suitably secured at their upperand lower ends to the top and bottom walls 40 and 54. Guided for vertical movement by the rods 70 and 72 isa support 74 comprised 'of a flat horizontal platform 76 of generally rectangular configuration. The opposite ends of the platform 76 are fixed to vertical plates78 and 80 that are secured to vertical tubular members 82 and 84, respectively. The tubular members embrace and are slidable upon the guide rods 70' and 72. A pair of coiled tension springs 86 are suitably secured at their upper ends to the top wall 40 and have their lower ends secured to the plate 78 equidistant forwardly and rearwardly of the tubular member 82. The plate'80 is correspondingly provided with a pair of support springs 88. The springs 86 and 88 are selected to be of only such strength as to support a stack of newspapers 18 thereon at a height such that the uppermost newspaper is yieldingly urged upwardly to a position, barring any external restraint, disposed somewhat above the topv of the dispensing opening 24.

The means .26 for adjusting the effective vertical height or thickness of the dispensing opening 24 serves additionally to limit the upward movement of the uppermost of the stack of newspapers 18, and such means comprises a vertically movable. carriage 90 that ineludes a generally horizontalbase plate 92 and a rela tively smaller plate 94 spaced thereabove and con= nected rigidly thereto by a vertical plate 96 that is placed in close proximity to the rear side of the wall or 4 94 arid '9 6 canbe formed'by bendingan appropriately shaped heavy sheet metal blank. The opposite ends of theu'pper plate 94 are bent upwardly to form reinforcing flanges 98 and 100. A pair of channels 102 and 104 are fixed tothe top of the base plate 92 at positions spacedbelow and parallel to the flanged ends of the plate 94. v v

Spaced and flanged vertical guide strips 106 and 108 to form flanges 110 and 112 that are respectively sliddoor 14. As will be evldenttothose skilledin the'art and on inspection of F1684, 7, 8 and 14, the plates 92,

ingly and guidingly engaged by the guide strips 106 and 108 as shown in FIG. 7. u

The carriage is moved vertically and releasably retained in vertically adjusted position by means that comprises a shaft and a pair of spaced and identical circular wheels 122 and 124 eccentrically fixed on such shaft 120 for rotation therewith. The shaft 120 is journaled through a pair of housings 126 and 128 that are suitably fixed to the door 14. The housings 126 and 128 and the function of their contents will be described subsequently in detail; and it will suffice for the moment to appreciate that the shaft 120 is horizontally disposed in parallelism to .the door 14 and is denied lateral movement in any direction.

The shaft120is disposed between the plates 92 and 94 and the diameters of the wheels 122 and 124 are nearly identical to the spacing of the plate 94 above the channels 102 and 104, whereby the angular position of the shaft 120 about its axis controls the vertical position of the carriage 190 by the driving and slidingengagement of the peripheries of the ,eccentrically mounted wheels 122 and 124 slidably engaging the adjacent surfaces of the plate 94 and the channels 102 and 104, respectively.

The shaft 120 is slidable axially to a limited extent through .the housings 126 and 128, and the shaft 120 is yieldingly urged to the left as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8 by means of a coiled compression spring 130 embracing the shaft 120 and having its opposite ends seated against a washer 131 bearing on the exterior of the housing 126 and a radially enlarged stop 132 fixed .to an end of the shaft 120. The shaft 120 slidably and rotatably extends through a retainer structure designated generally at 136 that is fixed to the door 14 at 138. The end portion of the shaft 120 remote from the step 132 is twice bent at right angles to define a radial arm 140 and an oppositely extending free end portion 142. u

The retainer structure 136 comprises a plate 144 through which the shaft 120 extends, and the periphery of the side of plate 144 is provided with a flange 146 that is provided with an arcuate set of recesses or pockets 148, each of which is adapted to receive the free end portion 142 of the shaft 120 and thereby to deny freedom of rotation to the shaft 120. The free end por-- tion 142 of the shaft 120 is retained axially in any se-' lected socket 148 by the spring130; however, the same i can bewithdrawn axially from any particular socket by grasping the arm 140 and pulling the same against the action of the spring 130, whereupon the shaft 120 can then be turned to adjust the height of the carriage 90, and with such adjustment made, the spring 130 is then allowed to seat the free end portion 142 in such one of in such adjustedposition with great ease. The importance of such adjustment will be apparent presently.

The base plate '92 of the carriage in its rearward extent overlies the forward marginal extent of the stack of newspapers 18 when the door '14 is closed as clearly shown in FIGS. and 16, and the rear margin 150 of the base plate 92 is upward and rearwardly inclined to facilitate closure of the door 14 and the movement of the plate 92 to overlie the uppermost of the stacked newspapers 18. v

The forward portion 152 of the plate 92 projects forwardly through the opening 24 in the door 14,'with the forwardmost marginal edge of the plate 92 being forwardly and downwardly inclined as indicated at 154. The lateral extent of the plate 92 and of the plate 96 is only slightly less than the horizontal extent of the opening 24, with the consequence being such that the effective vertical extent or width of the opening 24 is controlled by the vertical position of the carriage 90 and in particular the plates 92 and 96 of the latter as such plates adjustably close the top part of the opening 24 in the door 14.

The adjustable effective vertical extent of the opening 24, namely, the vertical displacement of the plate 92 above the lower edge 160 of the opening 24 (see and compare FIGS. 13 and 14), enables an adjustment such as to accommodate differing size newspapers. It will be recognized that the number of pages (and accordingly, the thickness) of a newspaper can vary greatly from edition to edition. Commonly, Sunday newspapers are thicker, perhaps several times thicker, than some weekday edition. An adjustment suitable to prevent the simultaneous dispensing of two or more light or thin newspapers will probably preclude the dispensing of a single copy of a Sunday newspaper. Thus it is extremely important to provide, as has been provided in this instance, an adjustment that will easily accommodate the dispensing of a single copy, while positively precluding the dispensing of more than one copy at a time.

In the preferred construction, the central portion solely of the opening 24 is downwardly extended below the major extent of the lower edge 160 of the opening 24 and as best shown in FIGS. 15-17, such central downward extension or depression of the part of the door 14 definingthe bottom edge of the opening 24 is indicated at 170 and such is contoured upwardly and rearwardly so that a smooth surface is presented to the hand 172 of a person reaching through the central portion of the opening 24 to grasp the central portion of the folded edge of the uppermost newspaper 18 between the thumb andindex finger as clearly shown in FIG. 16. Further inspection of FIG. 16 will make it evident that the vertical height of the carriage 90 is adjusted to be such that uppermost newspaper 18 having its upper surface 174 abutting the under side of the base plate 92 has its lower surface 174 approximately coplanar with the lower edge 160, though of course such surface 174 is spaced above the central and contoured surface 172. v t

In the preferred construction, the door 14 is provided with a shield meansto, afford weather protection in addition to that obtained by the forward marginal edge 178 of the inclined top wall 40 projecting forwardly of the front surface of the door 14, when the latter is closed. In the latter connection, note that the forward and uppermost marginal edge portion 180 of the side wall 42 also projects forwardly. For reasons of appearance. as well as actual weather protection, the vertical edge margin 182 of the door 14 adjacent the hinge 44 is turned outwardly so as to bear a relationship to the side wall 52, whenthe door'14 is closed, that is quite similar to that which the edge margin bears to the remainder of the side .wall 42.

' The shield means is designated generally at 184 and comprises a vertical wall or shield 186 spaced forwardly of and parallel to the front of the door 14. The shield 186 is of a generally rectangular configuration with the upper and lower edges being spaced above and below the dispensing opening 24. The upper edge 188 of the shield is sealingly secured to the door by a plate 190 connecting the shield 186 to the door 14. The shield has a horizontal extent greater than the opening 24 so as to completely overlie the latter, and the vertica] side edges of the shield 186 are sealingly secured also to the door by vertical plates connected therebetween, such as the one indicated at 192 in FIG. 15. The central portion of the shield 186 includes a transparent panel 194 so that a prospective customer (not shown) can visually see and have its attention attracted to the central portion of the newspaper 18 next to be dispensed. The panel 194 is cut away or recessed along its lower-edge as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 15 at 200, whereby the prospective customer can position the wrist portion 202 of his arm when extracting a newspaper 18 from the machine 10. The panel 194 can be a synthetic resin such as a methyl methacrylate resin such as commonly sold under trademarks such as Lucite and Plexiglas, etc.

Coin operated means is provided for preventing the withdrawal of a newspaper 18 fromthe machine except for inserting the proper amount of coinagev into the machine 10 immediately preparatory to or preceding the withdrawal of each newspaper 18.

The coin operated means is-designated generally at 210 and includesa pair of identical gating units 212 and 124 which are individually housed in the previously mentioned housings 126 and 128 through which the height adjustment shaft 120 is slidably journaled as described earlier. Since the two gating means 212 and 214 are essentially identical, a detailed description of one will suffice for both, and accordingly, attention is directed to FIG. 10 wherein the gating means 212 is shown in side elevation with the adjacent side or half of the housingl'26 thereof removed. The housing 126 is composed of two halves or sections which are essentially in all material aspects (except as specifically pointed out) symmetrical to their parting plane (the medial plane of the gating means 212), and consequently an appreciation of the structure of the illustrated half or section 216 of the housing 126will be amply adequate for those skilled in the art.

The housing section 216 is such as to lend itself to fabrication by injection molding from a suitable high density, high impact and strength synthetic resin, such as nylon and the like. The housing section 216 is substantially rectangular and has a side wall 218 and a flange 220 about a large portion of its periphery, and portions 222, 224 and 226 of such flange 220 are of substantial thickness and like the major proportion of the extent of the flange 220 terminate at the parting plane or medial plane 228 (see FIG. 7) of the housing 126 or its juncture with the other half 230 of the housing 126. The thickened flange portions 222, 224 and 226 are provided with recesses such as those shown at 232, 234 and 236, respectively for the purpose of assuring proper orientation of the two sections 216 and 230 during assembly of the housing 126 and to retain or to help in retaining the housing 126 assembled. In one important respect, the housing section 230 is not a mirror image of the section 216, it being understood that rather than having recesses such as the recesses 232, 234 and 236, the housing section 230 has male parts essentially complementary to and press fitted into the female parts constituted of said recesses; as will be readily appreciated by those familarwith the art.

Except as pointed out specifically the housing 126 is hollow, and oscillatably mounted in the housing 126 on a two-part pivot pin 240 that is integral with the side walls 218 of the housing sections 216 and 230, is a gate finger 242 that has an elongated finger 244 that extends downwardly and forwardly from the bottom of the housing 126, it being understood that a portion of the flange 220 is cut away as at on both housing sections 216 and 230 to accommodate oscillatory or swinging movement of the gate and in particular the finger portion 244 thereof.

An elongated blocking member 250 is oscillatably mounted on a pivot pin 252 that is similar to the pivot pin 240. The hub portion 254 of the gate 242 is proshown thereof in FIG. 10; such position of the gate being called its closed or obstructing position in the appended claims. The tooth of the blocking member 250 is, as stated, partially defined by the shoulder 258, and is otherwise defined by a camming surface 260 that jointly with the shoulder 258 gives the tooth 262 of the blocking member 250 a V-shape or V-like configuration as evident on inspection of FIG. 10.

A release or control element 264 is movably disposed in the housing 126 in between the gate and the blocking member 250. As clearly shown in FIG. 12, the element is an elongated flat metallic strap of generally rectangular configuration. The strap has an elongated slot 266 therein having an end 268. The element has the side of one end portion 270 slidably seated against a flat side or face 272 of the flange portion 226. The other end portion 274 of the element 264 engages an actuating member that will now be described.

The actuating member 280 comprises a spoollike hub 282 that is journaled through the housing 126 that is retained therein by resilient retainer clips 284 of conventional character in the side walls 218 of the housing, and by the radially enlarged opposite ends 286 of the hub 282. The hub 282 has a central opening 288 of square cross section therethrough for a purpose to be set forth shortly.

The actuator 280 includes a blade 290 radially extending from the hub 282 to which it is securely attached, and such blade extends downwardly through a T-shaped slot 292 in the element 264; the slot 292 being of such T-shape to facilitate assembly. The blade 290 has a width greater than that of the slot 292 and is notched at its opposite sides as at 294 so as to define portions 296 underlying the element 264 and preventing disengagement of the blade 290. Such engagement of the element 264 with the blade portions 296 constitutes support for the end portion 298 of the element 264. A flat steel spring 300 has its central part seated against the portion 302 of the housing 126 through which the shaft isjournaled and is resiliently biased in such a manner that one end portion 304 bears upon a central part of the element 264 to urge the same downwardly, and so that the other and bent end portion of the spring 300 is seated against and is engaged over an internal and integral partition 306 of the housing 126.

When the actuator means 280, the element 264, and the gate 242 are in the positions shown thereof in FIG. 10, the shoulders 256 and 258 extend into the slot 266 and engage each other within the slot 266. The shoulders 256 and 258 are forced to disengage upon the element 264 being moved to the right, as viewed in FIG. 10, as the edge or surface 268 of the element 264 at one end of the slot 266 engages the camming surface or edge 260 of the blocking member 250 and force the tooth 262 of the blocking member 250 upwardly and from within the slot 266. At the same time such movement of the tooth 262 occurs, the element 264 is cammed downwardly with a force supplementing the force of the spring so that the shoulder 256 of the gate 246 is constantly maintained within the slot 266.

As soon as the shoulders 256 and 258 are disengaged it will be evident that the blocking member 250 ceases to prevent anticlockwise movement of the gate 242 from its closed or obstructing position toward what may be referred to as its open or non-obstructing position.

It will sufficc for the moment to note that the element 264 can and will be moved to the right so as to disengage the shoulders 256 and 258 upon the actuating means 280 being rotated sufficiently anticlockwise by reason of engagement of the blade 290 with the end 310 of the slot 292.

As soon as the tooth 262 disengages the shoulder 256, the gate can be turned anticlockwise without hindrance from the blocking member 250, and will be opposed solely by the element 264 and the resilient opposition of a flat spring 320 that has one end engaging the gate finger 242 so as to urge the latter to the position shown thereof in FIG. 10 and which spring has its other and bent end retained between the portions 224 and partitions 324 that are integral with the housing sections 216 and 230.

It is important to understand that anticlockwise movement of the gate 242 will force the element 264 to move to the left by reason of the shoulder 256 extending into the slot 266 and engaging the peripheral edge or surface 268 of the latter, and such leftward shift of the element 264 is accompanied by clockwise restoration movement of the actuator means 280.

As soon as leftward movement of the control element 264 is initiated as explained above, the tip of the tooth 262 slidingly engages the rides upon the smooth actuate surface 326 of the gate finger; this engagement being through the slot 266 of course. Such engagement of the tooth 262 with the surface 326 as well as subsequent movement of the tooth 262 to interlock with the shoulder 258 of the latter with the shoulder 256 of the gate finger'242 as shown in FIG. 10 is positively assured by the toothed end of blocking member 250 being yieldingly urged toward the pivotal axis 240 of the gate finger 242 by a flat steel spring 328 having a bent end portion retained by the journal portions 302 and partitions 330 of the housing sections 216 and 218.

As soon as the force on the gate finger 242 that caused anticlockwise movement of the same as well as leftward movement of the control element 264 is removed the spring 320 will cause the gate finger 242 to move clockwise and upon sufficient movement in such direction, the shoulder 256 will clear the shoulder 258 and the blocking member 250 will snap into blocking position so that subsequent anticlockwise movement of the gate finger is limited by engagement of the shoulders 256 and 258, until such time as the shoulders 256 and 258 are moved from their interlocking position as will occur when the control element is subsequently forced rightward as previously described.

It will be evident that the control element 264 will not prevent the tooth 262 snapping into its illustrated position by reason of the preceding leftward shift of the same that was accompanied and caused anticlockwise movement of the gate finger 242. Quite plainly the ensuing clockwise movement of the gate finger 242 does not do the converse, namely, drive the control element rightward.

The three flat springs 264, 320 and 328 are assembled and retained in their operative positions by no other structural provisions than those described, namely, the various integral portions of the housing sections 216 and 230 between which they are received as described. This manner of mounting is simple, quick to effect, reliable and relatively quite inexpensive. Also repair or replacement of the springs should such ever be necessary is easily effected.

The forward end portions 340 and 342 of the gating means 212 and 214 are suitably secured to the door 14 as illustrated at 344 and 346, respectively, with the exposed fingers 244 thereof extending downwardly through slots 348 and 350 in the base plate 92, it being noted that the gating means are positioned at a sufficiently great height that they will not interfere with the described height adjustability of the plate 92, and that the fingers 242 when in the obstructing positions shown in FIG. 10 extend below the bottom 160 of the dispensing opening 24 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. As in the case of the plate 92, the re-entrant wall portion 356 of the door 14 defining the bottom 160 of the opening 24 is provided with slots 3 58 allowing free movement of the fingers 244.

The dispensing of a single newspaper and associated action of the gating means 212 and 214 will be readily appreciated on reference to FIGS. 15, 16 and 17. With the gating units 212 and 214 being in the condition shown in FIGS. 10 and 15, the gate fingers 244 are in obstructing position and cannot be moved therefrom so as to permit the uppermost paper to be dispensed until the actuating means 280 has caused the control element to cam the tooth 262 from its blocking position.

As soon as the actuator means 280 have been operated on both the gating means 212 and 214, the fingers 244 thereof can move progressively to the positions shown thereof in FIGS. 16 and 17 as will occur and be caused by the engagement of the newspaper being withdrawn with the fingers 244. As soon as the newspaper being withdrawn clears or the passing rear edge of the newspaper passes beneath the end tips of the gate fingers 244 (which are at this time totally inaccessible through the opening 24 from the front of the machine 10 by reason of the opening being filled by the newspaper), the gate fingers 244 are snapped back into the positions shown thereof in FIGS. 10 and 15. Withdrawal of the next newspaper cannot then be accomplished until the actuator means 280 have been operated as described above.

In the light of the foregoing, the actuator means 280 must be appropriately operated intermediate each and every withdrawal of single copies of the newspapers.

The necessary operation of the actuator means 280 of the gating means 212 and 214 as a prerequisite to withdrawal of a newspaper copy is subject to the control of the coin operated mechanism 30 and 210.

Coin receiving slots 370 are provided in the door 14 and upon the insertion of appropriate coinage, a conventional coin mechanism (not shown) enables the purchaser to manually move a pivotally mounted handle 372 down one time and one time only, whereupon the inserted coins are released into a coin box 374, and whereby an elongated flexible element 376 is caused by conventional means only partially shown at 378 to pull downwardly on a crank arm 380 fixed to a square shaft 382. The square shaft 382 extends through the correspondingly shaped openings 288 of the actuator means of both gating means 212 and 214.

The owner and operator of the box can readily remove unsold obsolete newspapers from the machine 10 (the display box having a hinged 390 top portion 392 to facilitate newspaper insertion and removal) and replenish the machine with a supply of current edition newspapers with adjustment also being readily made for the thickness of the individual newspapers.

The inaccessibility of the gating means 212 and 214 and their fingers 244 essentially preclude pilfering or the removal of more than one newspaper for paying the price of only one or less. The machine 10 affords adequate protection of the newspapers from the elements, while making the nature, condition and quantity of the same quickly ascertainable visually.

Further description of the structure and function of the machine is unnecessary for those conversant with the art, and attention is now directed to the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing machine of the type that has a provision for urging vertical movement of a stack of rectangular flat articles disposed within a housing upwardly to position the uppermost of such articles toa dispensing position adjacent a dispensing opening in a vertical wall of such housing; the combination therewith of stop means disposed within the housing for limiting upward vertical movement of articles stacked within the housing, gauging means for securing the stop means to the housing at any one. of a plurality of selected positions of differing height, said stop means being disposed adjacent said vertical wall and in close proximity to said dispensing opening in an arrangement such that the selected height at which the stop means is secured to the housing predetermines the effective vertical extent of the dispensing openingthat is unobstructed by the stop means and the maximum vertical thickness of an uppermost stacked article that can be dispensed horizontally from withinthe housing through the dispensing opening, said gauging means comprising the stop means including a carriage mounted on said vertical wall for guided vertical sliding movement relative I l thereto, actuating means oscillatably mounted on the vertical wall foractuating vertical movement'of the carriage in response to oscillatory movement of the actuating means, securing means for releasably. secu ringv the actuating means .in any selected one ofa plurality of angular positions, said actuating means comprises a shaft mounted for rotation, a cam wheel eccentrically mounted on said shaft, said carriageincludinga pair of spaced parallel elements rotatably receiving therebetween and slidably engaging the cam wheel,

2;. Ina dispensing machineof the type that has a provision for urging vertical movement of a stack of rectangular flat'artieles disposedwithina housing upwardly to position the uppermostof such articles to a dispensing position adjacent a dispensing. opening in a vertical the dispensing opening that is unobstructed by the stop means and the maximum vertical thickness of an uppermost stacked article that can be dispensed horizontally from within the housing through the dispensing opening, means ,normally preventing withdrawal of an articlefromwithin the housing through the dispensing opening, and coin operated means for disabling the last recited meansfor solely a single article withdrawal through. said dispensing opening, means for preventing withdrawal comprising a finger oscillatably mounted to swing downwardly from a first and non-obstructing positionto a second position that obstructs the dispensing openingto prevent the withdrawal of anarticlctherethrough, means yieldingly urging oscillatory movement of the finger from its first and toward its second position, means for releasably securing the finger in its second position, wherebythe finger is free to pivot toward its/first position when unlatched on withdrawal of an article through the dispensing opening, said securing means being yieldingly urged toward securing engagementwith the finger and being securingly engageable with the latter when the latter is in its second position, and said coin operated means being operatively connected to the securing means to release thelatter.

1 3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said means for preventing withdrawal includes a plurality of said fingers horizontally spaced from each other.

4.'Th'e combination of claim 2, wherein the stop means includes a horizontally projecting lip that extendsinto'the slot in part, the effective uppermost edge of the'dispensing opening. v r s. The combination of 1m 2,;wherein said lip projects entirelythrough the vertical wall. 6'. The combination of claim 2, including hood means fixed to the exterior of the housing to prevent ingress of precipitation into the housing through the dispensing opening; said hood means including a shielding wall spaced outwardly from the exterior of the vertical wall and extending downwardly from a height abovethe dis-, pensing opening to a height below that of thelatteri i 7. The combination of claim 2, whereinsaid shielding wall is at least in part of transparent material affording visual observance of at least a portion of the dispensing opening and of such articles as may be exposed to view through the dispensing opening.

s. The combination of claim 2, wherein said sh ielding wall has a lower edge, and said shielding wall having an upwardly extending notch in its lower edge of sufficient dimension to afford manual access to an uppermost article t hrough said notch and said dispensing opening.

1 9. The combination of claim 2, wherein said housing has a normally .closed and locked-closure member for selectively affording solely authorizedaccess to the interior of the housing, whereby articles can be stacked in and removed from the housing and whereby access can be had'to the gauging means. v I V 10. The combination of claim 2, wherein saidclosure member is constituted of saidvertical wall and wherein said stop and said gauging meansare mountedon said vertical wall. v I i i U l l. Thecombination of claim 2, wherein said gauging means comprises the stop means including a carriage mounted on said vertical wall for guiding vertical sliding movement relative thereto, actuating means oscillatably mounted on the vertical wall for actuating vertical movement of the carriage in response to oscillatory movement of the actuating means, and securing means for releasably securing theactuating means in any selected one of a plurality of angular positions.

12. The combination of claim 2, wherein said actuating means comprises a shaft mounted for rotation, a cam wheel eccentrically mounted on said shaft, said carriage including a pair of spaced parallel elements rotatably receiving therebetween and slidably engaging the cam wheel. v

13. In a property security system, they improvement comprising a gate mounted for oscillatory movement about an oscillation axis between closedand open positions, means yieldingly urgingmovement .of the gate about said oscillation axis toward its closed position, means normally preventingmovement of the gate from itsclosed position, said preventing-means comprising a blocking member mounted for movement between a gate releasing position and a gate blocking position, means yieldingly urging said blocking member toward its gate blocking position, and control means mounted for movement'between first and second positions and being respectively disposed in said first and second positions when the blocking member is in its blocking and gate releasing positions, said blocking member and said control means being provided with coacting surfaces engageable with each other and operative cammingly to force movement of the blocking member toward its gate releasing position on moving toward its second position fror'nits first position. 4,

l4. The'combination of claim 13, including means for actuating movement of the control means toward its second position from its first position.

15. The combination of claim 13. wherein said control means comprises an elongated element disposed between and movable in a direction ina plane perpendicular to said oscillation axis, said elongated element having a slot therethrough with said gate and said blocking member being in engagement through said slot when the gate, blocking member and control means are respectively .intheir closed, blocking and first positions.

16.The combination of claim 15, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with said peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces.

17. The combination of claim 15, wherein said blocking member is oscillatably mounted about a second oscillation axis that is parallel to the first mentioned axis, and wherein said gate and said blocking member are provided with shoulders that abut each other through said slot when the gate is prevented from moving from its closed position.

18. The combination of claim 17, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with such peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces, said control element being movable longitudinally in a direction generally normal to the movement of the shoulder of the blocking member, means yieldingly urging lateral movement of said control element toward the oscillation axis of the gate, said shoulder and said surface of the blocking member being disposed in said slot and also being interposed between said surface of the element and the shoulder of the gate, with the latter shoulder facing said element surface in an arrangement such that the shoulder of the gate can engage the element surface upon blocking member being cammed from within the slot and whereby the element is moved toward the first position of the control means by the shoulder of the gate as the latter is moved toward its open position.

19. in a newspaper vending machine of the type that includes a housing wall having an elongated opening therein for the dispensing of individual newspapers from a stack thereof therethrough, and improved means for gating the withdrawal of the individual newspapers, said gating means comprising a gate finger mounted for oscillatory movement about an oscillation axis between a position obstructing the opening and also obstructing movement of a newspaper through the opening and a non-obstructing position, said oscillation axis being parallel to the longitudinal extent of the opening, said direction of movement of the finger as it moves from its obstructing to its non-obstructing position being the same as the direction of movement of a dispensed newspaper through the opening, means yieldingly urging movement of the finger aboutsaid oscillation axis toward its obstructing position, means normally preventing movement of the finger from its obstructing position, said preventing means comprising a blocking member mounted for movement between a finger releasing position and a finger blocking position, means yieldingly urging said blocking member toward its finger blocking position and control means mounted for movement between first and second positions and being respectively disposed in said first and second positions when the blocking member is in its blocking and finger releasing positions, said blocking member and said control means being provided with coacting surfaces engageable with each other and operative cammingly to force movement of the blocking member toward its finger releasing position on moving toward its second position from its first position.

20. The combination of claim 19, including means for actuating movement of the control means toward its second position from its first position.

21. The combination of claim 19, wherein said control means comprises an elongated element disposed between and movable in a direction in a plane perpendicular to said oscillation axis, said elongated element having a slot therethrough with said finger and said blocking member being in engagement through said slot when the finger, blocking member and control means are respectively in their obstructing blocking and first positions.

22. The combination of claim 21, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with such peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces.

23. The combination of claim 21, wherein said blocking member is oscillatably mounted about a second oscillation axis that is parallel to the first mentioned axis, and wherein said finger and said blocking member are provided with shoulders that abut each other through said slot when the finger is prevented for moving from its obstructing position.

24. The combination of claim 23, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with such peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces, said control element being movable longitudinally in a direction generally normal to the movement of the shoulder of the blocking member, means yieldingly urging lateral movement of said control element toward the oscillation axis of the finger, said shoulder and said surface of the blocking member being disposed in said slot and also being interposed between said surface of the element and the shoulder of the finger, with the latter shoulder facing said element surface in an arrangement such that the shoulder of the finger can engage the element surface upon blocking member being cammed from within the slot and whereby the element is moved toward the first position of the control means by the shoulder of the finger as the latter is moved toward its non-obstructing position. 

1. In a dispensing machine of the type that has a provision for urging vertical movement of a stack of rectangular flat articles disposed within a housing upwardly to position the uppermost of such articles to a dispensing position adjacent a dispensing opening in a vertical wall of such housing; the combination therewith of stop means disposed within the housing for limiting upward vertical movement of articles stacked within the housing, gauging means for securing the stop means to the housing at any one of a plurality of selected positions of differing height, said stop means being disposed adjacent said vertical wall and in close proximity to said dispensing opening in an arrangement such that the selected height at which the stop means is secured to the housing predetermines the effective vertical extent of the dispensing opening that is unobstructed by the stop means and the maximum vertical thickness of an uppermost stacked article that can be dispensed horizontally from within the housing through the dispensing opening, said gauging means comprising the stop means including a carriage mounted on said vertical wall for guided vertical sliding movement relative thereto, actuating means oscillatably mounted on the vertical wall for actuating vertical movement of the carriage in response to oscillatory movement of the actuating means, securing means for releasably securing the actuating means in any selected one of a plurality of angular positions, said actuating means comprises a shaft mounted for rotation, a cam wheel eccentrically mounted on said shaft, said carriage including a pair of spaced parallel elements rotatably receiving therebetween and slidably engaging the cam wheel.
 2. In a dispensing machine of the type that has a provision for urging vertical movement of a stack of rectangular flat articles disposed within a housing upwardly to position the uppermost of such articles to a dispensing position adjacent a dispensing opening in a vertical wall of such housing; the combination therewith of stop means dispoSed within the housing for limiting upward vertical movement of articles stacked within the housing, gauging means for securing the stop means to the housing at any one of a plurality of selected positions of differing height, said stop means being disposed adjacent said vertical wall and in close proximity to said dispensing opening in an arrangement such that the selected height at which the stop means is secured to the housing predetermines the effective vertical extent of the dispensing opening that is unobstructed by the stop means and the maximum vertical thickness of an uppermost stacked article that can be dispensed horizontally from within the housing through the dispensing opening, means normally preventing withdrawal of an article from within the housing through the dispensing opening, and coin operated means for disabling the last recited means for solely a single article withdrawal through said dispensing opening, means for preventing withdrawal comprising a finger oscillatably mounted to swing downwardly from a first and non-obstructing position to a second position that obstructs the dispensing opening to prevent the withdrawal of an article therethrough, means yieldingly urging oscillatory movement of the finger from its first and toward its second position, means for releasably securing the finger in its second position, whereby the finger is free to pivot toward its first position when unlatched on withdrawal of an article through the dispensing opening, said securing means being yieldingly urged toward securing engagement with the finger and being securingly engageable with the latter when the latter is in its second position, and said coin operated means being operatively connected to the securing means to release the latter.
 3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said means for preventing withdrawal includes a plurality of said fingers horizontally spaced from each other.
 4. The combination of claim 2, wherein the stop means includes a horizontally projecting lip that extends into the slot in part, the effective uppermost edge of the dispensing opening.
 5. The combination of claim 2, wherein said lip projects entirely through the vertical wall.
 6. The combination of claim 2, including hood means fixed to the exterior of the housing to prevent ingress of precipitation into the housing through the dispensing opening, said hood means including a shielding wall spaced outwardly from the exterior of the vertical wall and extending downwardly from a height above the dispensing opening to a height below that of the latter.
 7. The combination of claim 2, wherein said shielding wall is at least in part of transparent material affording visual observance of at least a portion of the dispensing opening and of such articles as may be exposed to view through the dispensing opening.
 8. The combination of claim 2, wherein said shielding wall has a lower edge, and said shielding wall having an upwardly extending notch in its lower edge of sufficient dimension to afford manual access to an uppermost article through said notch and said dispensing opening.
 9. The combination of claim 2, wherein said housing has a normally closed and locked closure member for selectively affording solely authorized access to the interior of the housing, whereby articles can be stacked in and removed from the housing and whereby access can be had to the gauging means.
 10. The combination of claim 2, wherein said closure member is constituted of said vertical wall and wherein said stop and said gauging means are mounted on said vertical wall.
 11. The combination of claim 2, wherein said gauging means comprises the stop means including a carriage mounted on said vertical wall for guiding vertical sliding movement relative thereto, actuating means oscillatably mounted on the vertical wall for actuating vertical movement of the carriage in response to oscillatory movement of the actuating means, and securing means for releasably securing the actuating means in aNy selected one of a plurality of angular positions.
 12. The combination of claim 2, wherein said actuating means comprises a shaft mounted for rotation, a cam wheel eccentrically mounted on said shaft, said carriage including a pair of spaced parallel elements rotatably receiving therebetween and slidably engaging the cam wheel.
 13. In a property security system, the improvement comprising a gate mounted for oscillatory movement about an oscillation axis between closed and open positions, means yieldingly urging movement of the gate about said oscillation axis toward its closed position, means normally preventing movement of the gate from its closed position, said preventing means comprising a blocking member mounted for movement between a gate releasing position and a gate blocking position, means yieldingly urging said blocking member toward its gate blocking position, and control means mounted for movement between first and second positions and being respectively disposed in said first and second positions when the blocking member is in its blocking and gate releasing positions, said blocking member and said control means being provided with coacting surfaces engageable with each other and operative cammingly to force movement of the blocking member toward its gate releasing position on moving toward its second position from its first position.
 14. The combination of claim 13, including means for actuating movement of the control means toward its second position from its first position.
 15. The combination of claim 13, wherein said control means comprises an elongated element disposed between and movable in a direction in a plane perpendicular to said oscillation axis, said elongated element having a slot therethrough with said gate and said blocking member being in engagement through said slot when the gate, blocking member and control means are respectively in their closed, blocking and first positions.
 16. The combination of claim 15, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with said peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces.
 17. The combination of claim 15, wherein said blocking member is oscillatably mounted about a second oscillation axis that is parallel to the first mentioned axis, and wherein said gate and said blocking member are provided with shoulders that abut each other through said slot when the gate is prevented from moving from its closed position.
 18. The combination of claim 17, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with such peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces, said control element being movable longitudinally in a direction generally normal to the movement of the shoulder of the blocking member, means yieldingly urging lateral movement of said control element toward the oscillation axis of the gate, said shoulder and said surface of the blocking member being disposed in said slot and also being interposed between said surface of the element and the shoulder of the gate, with the latter shoulder facing said element surface in an arrangement such that the shoulder of the gate can engage the element surface upon blocking member being cammed from within the slot and whereby the element is moved toward the first position of the control means by the shoulder of the gate as the latter is moved toward its open position.
 19. In a newspaper vending machine of the type that includes a housing wall having an elongated opening therein for the dispensing of individual newspapers from a stack thereof therethrough, and iMproved means for gating the withdrawal of the individual newspapers, said gating means comprising a gate finger mounted for oscillatory movement about an oscillation axis between a position obstructing the opening and also obstructing movement of a newspaper through the opening and a non-obstructing position, said oscillation axis being parallel to the longitudinal extent of the opening, said direction of movement of the finger as it moves from its obstructing to its non-obstructing position being the same as the direction of movement of a dispensed newspaper through the opening, means yieldingly urging movement of the finger about said oscillation axis toward its obstructing position, means normally preventing movement of the finger from its obstructing position, said preventing means comprising a blocking member mounted for movement between a finger releasing position and a finger blocking position, means yieldingly urging said blocking member toward its finger blocking position and control means mounted for movement between first and second positions and being respectively disposed in said first and second positions when the blocking member is in its blocking and finger releasing positions, said blocking member and said control means being provided with coacting surfaces engageable with each other and operative cammingly to force movement of the blocking member toward its finger releasing position on moving toward its second position from its first position.
 20. The combination of claim 19, including means for actuating movement of the control means toward its second position from its first position.
 21. The combination of claim 19, wherein said control means comprises an elongated element disposed between and movable in a direction in a plane perpendicular to said oscillation axis, said elongated element having a slot therethrough with said finger and said blocking member being in engagement through said slot when the finger, blocking member and control means are respectively in their obstructing blocking and first positions.
 22. The combination of claim 21, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with such peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces.
 23. The combination of claim 21, wherein said blocking member is oscillatably mounted about a second oscillation axis that is parallel to the first mentioned axis, and wherein said finger and said blocking member are provided with shoulders that abut each other through said slot when the finger is prevented for moving from its obstructing position.
 24. The combination of claim 23, wherein said element has a surface defining a peripheral portion of said slot with such element surface constituting one of said coacting surfaces, and said blocking member having a peripheral surface extending into said slot when said blocking member is in blocking position with such peripheral surface constituting the other of said coacting surfaces, said control element being movable longitudinally in a direction generally normal to the movement of the shoulder of the blocking member, means yieldingly urging lateral movement of said control element toward the oscillation axis of the finger, said shoulder and said surface of the blocking member being disposed in said slot and also being interposed between said surface of the element and the shoulder of the finger, with the latter shoulder facing said element surface in an arrangement such that the shoulder of the finger can engage the element surface upon blocking member being cammed from within the slot and whereby the element is moved toward the first position of the control means by the shoulder of the finger as the latter is moved toward its non-obstructing position. 